Integration of global limits and regionalization of environmental impact calculation methods applied to buildings and neighborhoods

Background and challenges

Buildings are complex systems with a long lifespan, often lasting several decades or even centuries. They also account for over 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in France. To comply with the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C, we need to halve emissions by 2030 and cancel them out by 2050. Such a transition is a real challenge in a sector made up of SMEs and self-employed professionals with few resources to innovate. The eco-design tools already developed are a help towards this transition, but they need to be adapted and supplemented to integrate planetary limits. Limits such as biodiversity and water consumption are also highly dependent on the local context, which means that impact assessment methods need to be regionalized.

Objectives

This research project aims to explore the possibilities of integrating planetary limits into the life cycle assessment (LCA) of buildings. The aim is to identify which limits can be taken into account, and to determine the most appropriate methods for articulating these limits with LCA impact indicators. This approach involves a descent in scale, from the planet’s global issues to the local specificities of the projects studied, in order to ensure consistency between global and local metrics. For example, impacts such as water consumption may have far greater consequences in certain regions, such as southern Europe, than in others, such as the north. The ultimate aim is to design methodological tools to take account of spatial disparities in certain environmental indicators, as well as developments in the energy sector, to make LCA of buildings more relevant and adapted to global issues.